I recently had the privilege to hear William Birdsong of the Alabama Extension Services Wiregrass Experiment Station in Headland talk about this very issue. He did a great job of relating how intregal agriculture is to the Dothan area. Here is some of the information he shared with the Kiwanis Club of Dothan.
One of the main issues Birdsong pointed out that farmers are facing is pricing. Since 1980, market prices of the various farm commodities have changed little, while production costs have risen at a pace at least equal to, if not more than, the rate of inflation.
Agriculture Production Costs
| 1980 | 2006 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fertilizer | $192 ton | $398 ton |
| Diesel Fuel | $0.97 gallon | $2.27 gallon |
| Tractor (110 hp) | $30,100 | $70,900 |
Across the State of Alabama, the number of farms has fallen from 58,000 in 1980 to 43,000 in 2002, while the number of acres farmed has dropped from 12.7 million to 8.6 million. A farm is defined as a place where at least $1,000 of agricultural commodities are sold annually.
Birdsong gave several reasons why the number of farms and the amount of acreage has declined over the years. NAFTA and other trade agreements, our government’s foreign policy, plus the cost of farming have all contributed to the lower numbers. Add to that the fact that the United States became a net importer of food in 2004, and it is easy to see why farming is not the draw it once was.
Still, you can’t drive five miles outside of Dothan without passing a farm of some kind, and this is the time of year when we celebrate agriculture’s contribution to Dothan and the Wiregrass.
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